A company that opened its first shop in the Cherry Hill Mall is becoming a multinational business.
Saladworks, which first started business in 1986 amid doubts that a restaurant could survive with just made-to-order salads, says they will begin opening franchises in Singapore next year. The company’s agreement with Amos Lee of Singapore outlines ultimately opening 15 stores there.
“Singapore is rich in diverse culture and because of this, the people are open to many foods and tastes,” Paul Steck, president of Saladworks, said.
Singapore is supposed to be only the first step across the border. The company is also looking at plans to expand into the United Kingdom and Middle East.
John Scardapane, now the chairman/CEO of Saladworks, first started the company after working as a gourmet chef at a South Jersey country club. He was encouraged at first to include sandwiches on the menu, since a salad-only business was still a very new and untested idea, according to the company’s official story about its origins.
But Saladworks began outselling the mall’s less healthy fast-food stores in its first year, and the store quickly stopped bothering with the sandwiches.
The company now has 100 locations in 12 states, and plans to expand to Louisiana, Washington, South Carolina, Texas and Washington, D.C.
